Breen returns from trade mission to India

Enterprise Ireland’s Trade Mission to India, led by the Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen, concluded on Sunday.

Thirteen Irish companies from the aviation, financial services, pharmaceuticals and health, ICT and education sectors travelled to Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi.

During the mission, a numberof deals and partnerships were signed.

As expanding opportunities for Irish companies in the aviation sector was a key objective of the mission, Minister Breen met with the Indian Minister for Civil Aviation and addressed the Aero Expo India attended by key policy and decision makers and stakeholders from the Indian aviation, aerospace, air cargo & allied industries.

Before departing India, Minister Breen said, “This trade mission was a valuable exercise in promoting Ireland as a welcoming country for Indian students to come to Ireland pursue a world-class education. As we address the challenges posed by the Brexit vote this trade mission provided valuable introductions for the participating companies to new business partners and customers in India”.

Brendan Flood, executive director International Sales and Partnering at Enterprise Ireland, said, “This trade mission is part of Enterprise’s Ireland’s broad drive to increase the export market penetration of Irish companies in the wake of the U.K Brexit referendum result. Trade missions play a major role in promoting Ireland’s world-class goods and services abroad and enabling the global ambition of Irish companies.”

Prior to his departure, Minister Breen visited a major Education in Ireland fair, which commenced in New Delhi on Saturday. Fourteen Irish Higher Education Institutes are participating in the fair organised by Enterprise Ireland with the objective of attracting Indian students to study in Ireland. The fair will move on to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chenai and is a key part of Education in Ireland’s strategy to increase the number of international students in Ireland by 33% by 2020.